In an incident manifesting cruelty, miscreants allegedly stole a van after its driver had an epileptic fit in Jhenaidah on Monday morning.

The victim was identified as Kalam Sardar, 40, who is currently undergoing treatment at Jhenaidah 250-bed General Hospital.

According to locals, Kalam left home around 8:00am with his rickshaw van, as usual, to earn a living for his family.

While passing through the Kalicharanpur area of the town, he suddenly suffered a severe epileptic seizure and collapsed unconscious on the roadside.

Taking advantage of his helpless condition, unidentified miscreants allegedly fled with his van – his family’s only source of income.

A local resident, Sohagh Hossain, said another van driver found Kalam lying unconscious around 10:00am and took him to the hospital’s emergency department before leaving.

After regaining consciousness in the medicine ward, Kalam learned that his van had been stolen.

Speaking from his hospital bed with tears in his eyes, Kalam said he suffers from epilepsy and occasionally experiences seizures.

“I am a poor man. My van is the only way I support my wife and children. I remember falling sick while driving, but after that I remember nothing. Now I hear my van is gone. I do not know how I will survive or feed my family,” he said.

Dr Shahin Dhali of the hospital said Kalam was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state in the morning.

“Initially, we suspected he might have been drugged by criminals. But after medical examinations and reviewing his medical history, it was confirmed that he lost consciousness due to a severe epileptic seizure,” he said.